Containers for food are manufactured in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and out of a wide variety of different materials. Among such packages are the "tin" cans widely used for selling food in grocery stores. One of the disadvantageous of packaging food in such cans, however, is that special can openers or tear strips must be provided to open the cans; and once the cans are open, they cannot be resealed. Another popular package for food is a glass bottle with a removable lid. An advantage of this type of container is that the container can be resealed after use for storing unused portions of the food for use at some subsequent time.
Also in widespread use are various types of metal foil packages and plastic bags, primarily for frozen foods which are prepared by placing the packages in an oven, microwave oven or boiling water, to cook the food.
Another package usually used for condiments in fast food restaurants is a relatively small plastic envelope having a tear strip across a corner or one end for opening the package. The contents then are squeezed out through the opening to dispense the contents where desired. Packages of this type generally are used to dispense relatively small amounts of condiments such as ketchup, mustard, relish and the like.
In the marketing of baby food, most baby foods for the "infant" and "junior" categories are packaged in glass bottles with removable lids. Several disadvantageous are inherent in such packaging. First of all, the contents, even of the jars used for small babies, usually are more than can be consumed by an infant at any one meal. In addition, the jars containing vegetables and meats must be heated in hot water to bring the contents up to a warm temperature for feeding. There is always a danger of overheating the food. This, at the very least, can result in discomfort to the child and possibly can result in burns if a mother forgets to check the temperature prior to feeding. Since the food is in a glass bottle container, it must be removed from the container for feeding, and a mother generally does this by using a spoon. In most cases, the mother holds the baby food jar in one hand and weilds the spoon in the other hand. Most mothers also need a "third" hand to help keep the baby from knocking the spoon away from its mouth during the feeding process. If the jar is placed on a feeding table; so that the mother may then use one of her hands to help control the child's arms, frequently the child manages to strike the jar and knock it over spilling the contents on the floor. Any mother who has had to contend with the feeding of an active infant is well aware of the many disadvantages inherent with the baby food jar packages currently used.
Efforts have been made in the past to provide a composite container and combination feeding implement (such as a spoon) in an effort to overcome some of the foregoing disadvantages, particularly with respect to baby food. One such attempt at combining a baby food container and spoon is illustrated in the patent to Smith U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,152. The Smith patent has the food prepackaged in a collapsible tube (such as a toothpaste type of tube) with a tip of the tube extended over the base of an integrally formed spoon. When the food is to be consumed, the tip is cut off with a knife and the tube is squeezed to eject food onto the spoon portion. The spoon portion is a relatively short spoon bowl at the dispensing end of the tube. The remainder of the tube is of a soft pliable plastic, so that it can be squeezed or rolled up to dispense the food onto the bowl. Once a substantial quantity of food has been squeezed out of the tube, the collapsible nature of the food container portion of the implement inherently causes it to loose rigidity, and only the bowl portion of the container/spoon remains rigid. As a consequence, the mother must hold the spoon at a point very close to the baby's mouth; and the likelihood of food getting smeared on the hand of the mother during feeding is quite high.
Other combined containers and feeding spoons in which the spoon portion is attached to the dispensing end of a collapsible container portion are disclosed in the patents to Edmonds U.S. Pat. No. 2,252,119; Hansen U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,032; Wille U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,822; Bush U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,170; Grimsley U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,018; and Brown U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,679. All of these patents disclose a short spoon, comprising at least a bowl portion, which is screwed onto the cap of a collapsible container having an opening for ejecting non-solid food in the form of food paste or liquid from the container onto the bowl of the spoon. Most of the containers disclosed in these patents are rigid or semirigid, but all of the structures are relatively expensive multiple-piece structures. The devices of these patents do not readily lend themselves to an inexpensive throw-away or disposable container.
Three patents which are directed to combinations of nipples and collapsible containers for feeding babies are the patents to Emerson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,026; Barton U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,113; and Swanson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,429. The Emerson patent is directed to a nursing package comprising an outer framework in which a collapsible bag is suspended with a nipple connected over the end. Food is not packaged for sale in the bags, but they are filled for use by the mother. This structure is widely used today for feeding milk or formula to small babies.
The Barton patent also discloses a nipple and collapsible tube feeder. It has some of the features of the Emerson et al patent, but food concentrate is sealed into an intermediate portion of the container for sale of the unit as a package along with the nipple. When the device is to be used, a foil seal is opened to expose the food concentrate. The concentrate then is poured into the collapsible bag in the bottle and an appropriate amount of liquid is added. The food then is dispensed through the nipple and the bag automatically collapses.
Swanson is generally similar to Barton and Emerson and is directed to a collapsible disposable container and nursing unit in which the food is pre-packaged in the collapsible container for subsequent use. Swanson also mentions use of the dispenser for condiments or for use in space travel and other related uses.
It is desirable to provide a combination disposable container and feeding spoon, particularly suitable for dispensing baby food, which is not subject to the disadvantages of the above mentioned prior art. Such a container/spoon combination also should be easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.